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Wide use of U.S. airport body scanners depends on Obama

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The path toward rolling out wider use of whole-body security scanners in U.S. airports runs through the White House.

U.S. |  Barack Obama

The failed Christmas Day attack aboard a Detroit-bound U.S. airliner has created congressional calls for greater use of body scanners that advocates say would have detected non-metallic items such as the explosives an Islamic militant from Nigeria is accused of smuggling on board.

Dutch authorities said on Wednesday Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport, where the Nigerian suspect made a connection, will begin using full-body scanners within three weeks.

U.S. President Barack Obama could expedite such a deployment because the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) don't need legislation from Congress to start using the devices at any of the 560 U.S. airports with scheduled airline service.

Current use is limited to a 19 airports and is optional -- passengers can choose to undergo a pat-down instead.

A greater U.S. government shift toward using the high-tech devices could create a boom for makers of security imaging products, and it has already created a speculative spike in share prices in some companies.

It would also set off opposition from civil libertarians who consider the body scanners an invasion of privacy that is akin to a strip search -- a claim hotly contested by security advocates. The devices detect objects concealed under clothes and can produce detailed images of the body. Operators in a separate room view images that blur the face and genitalia.

In a pilot program implemented after the September 11 attacks of 2001, TSA operates 40 millimeter wave technology units at 19 airports and has purchased 150 backscatter, low-level X-ray machines that will be deployed over the next year at a cost of $130,000 to $160,000 per unit. In addition, TSA has plans and funding to buy another 300 units in 2010.

Because ceramic knives and explosive powders and liquids can pass through standard metal detectors without setting off alarms, authorities might consider forcing passengers to pass through whole-body imaging machines.

More . . .

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Peanut-buttered solution!  Not sure how well this will work.

I hope they use evidence-based pre-screening a bit more to narrow down real risky travellers.